Fairness
Project Leadership Tool Kit

Dr. Minor is known nationally for workshops
for activist leaders on "Being an Activist Without
Being a Victim" that address issues of burnout and
self-nurturing as key elements of progressive leadership.
In these workshops he distributes articles which inspire
a new way of looking at activism as a personal healing
model rather than a "war" on something.

The Fairness Project wants to make these
and other especially insightful materials available
to anyone interested in healthy activism from a healing
model. On this page you can download and link to materials
that are available to support your activist work. Contact
The Fairness Project with questions or
to plan a leadership workshop by Dr. Minor. We can
work within your budget.

"Burnout,
Blowout, and Breaking Up: Navigating the Hazards
of Activist Leadership" (The
Fairness Project Series) Now in it's 2nd (2011)
edition, this 8-page, durably published
booklet emphasizes practical principles for a model
of leadership intended to provide what progressive
movements need and to ensure personal growth in
those who choose to be leaders. Based in Dr. Minor's
workshops on healthy activism, his "healing" model
breaks the patterns of the usual leadership ideals
which arise out of profit-oriented institutions
that don't seek deep-rooted, progressive change.
Order it at a discount
here. When emailing your order, ask for the
current "Tool Kit" discount.

"Why Leadership
Is the Most Dangerous Idea in American Business" (Inc.) An
article, surprisingly from a business magazine, that
calls "entrepreneurs" to move away from the unhealthy
models of leadership ("heroic," "inspirational,"
"charismatic") proclaimed by most who write about
it today. It calls for a more healing model ("antiheroic"). Read
it here.

"Being Progressive
Shouldn't Be Hazardous to Your Health" (AlterNet) An
article by a psychologist about burnout being embedded
in our culture and its relationship to personal issues
often found in progressives whose lifestyles are
encouraged by organizations they lead. The article
emphasizes healthy, vibrant and joyful leaders and
the organizations that foster and create them are
the keys to creating a world that embodies these
same values, and thus the importance among leaders
of self-compassion and an ethic of self-care. Read
it here.

"Leadership
Decisions" by
Charlie Kreiner. The
late Charlie Kreiner was an international workshop
leader on issues of gender and leadership. He was
a clear voice for the combination of personal healing,
the ending of oppression, and the conviction that
every human being is connected to every other. Download
here a brief piece (pdf) he wrote which summarized
his approach -- about making decisions on how to
be a leader in anti-oppression movements while
not living out of one's own unhealed pain and hurt.

"Staying
Fired Up: Antidotes for Activist Burnout" by
Letty Cottin Pogrebin. A still insightful,1994
article by
a founding editor of Ms magazine and author. "No
issue is more common to all of us than the fundamental
questions of how we relate to one another, how we assemble
authority structures, provide access routes to leadership,
and resolve conflict when it arises within the group." Download
a pdf here. (Reprinted with permission from
TIKKUN:
A Bimonthly Interfaith Critique of Politics, Culture,
& Society)

Creating
a One-on-One Support System through "Listening
Partnerships." Having
a support system to allow a leader to give attention
to what's going on with them about their leadership
joys and frustrations is essential. One way to
do this is to set up intentional, mutual listening
partnerships with
someone or some people to reflect upon one's needs,
frustrations, disappointments and dreams. Download
a one-page pdf here.